LexiAlexander is a heroic figure in Hollywood: She’s an incredible director, a fierce activist, and known for her generosity to marginalized creators. Lexi and I talk about themes that are considered dangerous in Hollywood, especially violence, sex, and Arabness. We also talk about violence and melodrama, men breaking down in movies, masculinity, why monogamy is perverse, age of consent laws, sex education and sexual imagery, slimy DMs, Arab representation in media and US culture, the construction of Arab identity, how Islamophobes exploit feminism and LGBT rights to attack Muslims, the benefits and problems of unions in Hollywood, and more!

* Note: Sorry about the sound on this episode, if you noticed. There was a huge hiss running through, which I remedied with help from the excellent folks at Nostalgia Trap. But the thing sounds a little, um, opaque and bass heavy. It gets a but better around 19:00. I suggest you turn the treble up on your settings for this, and then it sounds much better! And if you didn’t notice, well, then, thank you!